XIAN, CHINA – A pot of soup from 2,400 years ago was found in a tomb. And it was still hot!

XIAN, CHINA – A pot of soup from 2,400 years ago was found in a tomb. And it was still hot!

The 2,400 year old bronze vessel was found near the captial of Xian. Archaeologists also believe they found a container of wine, and traces of brie.

“It’s the first discovery of bone soup in Chinese archaeological history,” the Global Times quoted Liu Daiyun of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology as saying. “And it is the first time, we’ve ever discovered soup that was still in a bowl and still piping hot!”

“The discovery will play an important role in studying the eating habits and culture of the Warring States Period (475-221 BC).” That is if they can keep the archaeologists from eating the soup!”

The tomb was being excavated to make way for an airport extension, the report said.

Scientists were expected to conduct further tests to confirm the liquid was indeed soup and to identify the ingredients. “It didn’t look like Hot N’ Sour soup to me, or Won Ton soup,” said American Soup Expert, John Malley.

The tomb could have held the body of either a member of the land-owning class or a low-ranking military officer, archaeologists said.

The terracotta army figures were found near Xiang in 1974 at the burial site of Qin Shihuang, China’s first emperor.

The find was made when Liu took the lid off a round, three-legged bronze cauldron. To his amazement it was full of hot liquid. He said: “When I opened the lid, I was really shocked. And it smelled delicious!”

My guess is that the liquid did not evaporate because of the lid and because the tomb had been tightly sealed for more than 2,000 years,” he added.

Xian is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People’s Republic of China. As one of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang’an before the Ming Dynasty. Xi’an is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, having held that position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang.

Xi’an is the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army.